Improvement in wagon-brakes



. UNITED STATES;

PATENT OFFICE.

" it BLE-IRON COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT m WAGON-BRAKES- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,755, dated September 8,1874 application filed July 22,1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. HEALD, of Moline, county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Wagon-Brakes, of which the following is a specification:

The present invention relates generally to wagon-brakes, but more especially to the devices for operating the same; and it consists partly in improvements in the construction of the dog for locking the vibrating lever in any desired position, and the manner of seating and retaining the same in position in the vibrating lever, so that it may be readily and easily changed from a right-hand to a left-hand lock, or vice versa, and partly in the construction of the segmental rack-bar for holdingthe vibrating lever from rattling when thrown back to an unlocked position, all as hereinafter fully described. To enable those skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, by reference to. the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying my improvement, together with a detached portion of the adjacent side of a wagon-body. Fig. 2 is a rear-side elevation of the vibrating lever and adjacent parts. Fig.

. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 2 on the lineww. Fig. 4. is a central sectional view of oneof the standards a. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 2, taken in a longitudinal plane at right angles to the plane of Fig. 3.

Referring to the parts by letters, letters A A represent the two sides of a V-shaped frame, provided at its ends with tubular standards a a, and at its angle with a similar standard, a. B is a segmental bar, having ratchet-teeth b at one end, and an enlargement, 1), at the other end. The segment ratchet-bar B is held securely in place on the standards a a by the bolts to, which pass through the side O of the Wagon-body, and

through the tubular standards a, and are se- I cured by nuts upon their outer ends. The

standards a have also round tenons 1; upon their outer ends, as shown at Fig. 4 of the drawings, which receive and retain the ratchet-bar B. D is the vibrating lever, its lower end journaled on a round tenon upon the outer end of the standard a, where it is secured by a bolt and nut, a'; its central part pierced by a slot, d, through which the bar B passes, and containing an oblong-shaped recess, d, in which a dog, E, (hereinafter described,) may reciprocate. The dog -E fits snugly between the parallel checks of the recess d, and is pierced with a transverse hole, 0, through which the bar B passes; the

ends of which hole are beveled in opposite directions, as shown plainly at Fig. 5, and also contain a projection, e, from one side, which contains a threaded hole for the reception of the connecting-rod F. G is a thumblever, elbow-shaped, as shown, its foot end extending through a slot in the lever D and pivoted at its end between ears 9 g, and its handle end extending upward in proximity c0 the upper end of the lever D, between which and itself a spring, H, is placed to exert a separating force between the two. The upper end of the connecting-rod F is secured to the angle of the thumb-lever G.

It will be evident to any person skilled in the art to which my invention appertains that when the dog E is brought, by moving the vibrating lever D, over either of the teeth b, it will be made to engage therewith by the force of the spring H, and that it may be retracted or released therefrom by pressing the thumb-lever G to the adjacent end of the lever D; and that, when the lever D is thrown back to that end of the bar B which has the enlargement b on its upper side, said enlargement will press the dog E upward, and the spring H press it downward thereon with sufficient force to prevent rattling or shaking on the bar B, and that the dog E will be retained in the recess cl by means of the bar B passing through it. By removing the nuts on the respective parts the bar B and lever D may be.

lifted from their supporting-standards a a a, and the bar B may then be withdrawn from the lever D, when the dog E may also be lifted from the recess d, and then, being unscrewed from the connectin g-rod F,may be inverted and again screwed to said rod and reseated in the recess 11, and the segment-bar B be turned end for end, when the parts, being all again secured to each other, as hereinbefore described, a lefthand side or reverse side lock from that hereinbefore described will be produced.

I am aware that vibrating levers having thumb-lever attachments operating somewhat like mine have before been known and used, and also that frames having tubular standards are not new, and I do not, therefore, claim such as my invention.

What I do claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The dog E, having hole 6, with beveled ends, seated between the checks of recess din the vibrating lever D, and operating in combination therewith and with the segment-bar B, substantially asand for the purpose specified.

2. The segment-bar B, provided with an enlargement, b, for operation with the lever D, spring H, thumb-lever G, connecting-rod F, and dog E, all combined substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES w. HEALD.

Witnesses:

H. R. OoFFEY, EDWIN WILLrAMs. 

